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Plans to double Talkin Tarn parking charges slammed

A parish council chairman has hit out at proposed changes to parking charges at a beauty spot.

Connie Ridley

And she says there is a feeling the area is being singled out by Carlisle City Council.

Connie Ridley, of Brampton Parish Council, has criticised proposals to increase the amount it costs to visit Talkin Tarn.

The authority has suggested doubling the parking charge from £1 to £2.

“It’s not fair when you can get into Hammonds Pond (in Carlisle, which has free parking) for nothing,” she said.

The proposed hike in fees is one of many proposals put forward by the local authority in an effort to slash more than £2.5 million from its annual budget and protect jobs.

Others have included handing back road maintenance to the county council, making members and officials pay for their civic dinner and mothballing some CCTV cameras.

Parking charges at the tarn have been a long-running dispute between the parish and city council since the latter took over the beauty spot in 2006. At the time it had free parking. The following year, it introduced a charge for anyone who parked their vehicle in the car park for two hours or more.

In 2009 it then introduced the current arrangement of charging between 10am and 6pm.

This was a watered-down version of the original proposal following protests from the parish council.

Mrs Ridley believes the council in Carlisle has a preconceived idea of Brampton.

“They say Carlisle’s not as well off as Brampton,” she said.

“We have the same kind of people in Brampton as there are in Carlisle.”

A spokeswoman for Carlisle City Council said that increases in charges at Talkin Tarn had been discussed.

However, she said what these might be had not yet been confirmed, and it has also not been confirmed whether they actually will go ahead.

A meeting where these proposals will be discussed is on Monday, November 19, at the Civic Centre.

Have your say

What a mixed muddled message Carlisle City Council send out -They want to attract more visitors and create a place of economic potential....so lets start by Milking Talking Tarn of an extra nicker putting off generations of Locals who have beautiful memories of a non commercial tranquil place.And for those thinking about visiting an opportunity to park in hedgerows and bag a nice two quid to spend on an ice cream -

Posted by Woody on
9 May 2013 at 18:25

GREEDY GREEDY GREEDY - why should i pay to park when I have paid tax since the age of 16!? The car park isn't even maintained to a good enough standard so to think I would pay for it is somewhat baffling!!